


don't leave me be

by jisunrise



Category: GOT7, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Got7 is kinda in this, Hurt Jeon Jungkook, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Jeon Jungkook, Sickfic, caring members, yeah thats about it lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-03-17 11:58:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13658532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jisunrise/pseuds/jisunrise
Summary: "It hurts."Or the one where Jeongguk's too naive to tell his members that he's not feeling well, so the awards ceremony is definitely going to be hell.But no one has to know.At least until someone finds him and he's caught.edit: well wtf how did this actually get reads i am confused as hell rn





	1. fine, totally fine

Jeongguk can't sleep.   
And it's getting to be really annoying.   
It's 5 AM, the sun hasn't risen yet, darkness is still falling in shadows all around him, yet he's still tossing and turning in the bed. It's not that he's uncomfortable, it's just that the bed seems too hot and the sheets are tangling up all around him and no matter how much he turns, how much he tosses, how many times he switches positions, it seems to get him even less comfortable than before.   
Jeongguk turns over and stares at the glaring red numbers of his clock, that scream 5:32 AM back at him. It's going to be less than 45 minutes before he has to get up and get ready for the plane ride, which for some reason takes off way too early for his liking. Ten minutes, fifteen, twenty, and Jeongguk gives up. He can't quite put his finger on what's wrong, something just feels so--off. He's hot one second and cold the next, and there's a teasing little ache that's starting to spread behind his eyes. 5:54 AM. Time's up.   
Jeongguk listens carefully for the pattering of footsteps that will appear within five minutes. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5.  
Tap.   
4.   
Tap.   
3.   
Tap.   
2.   
Click, twist.   
1.   
"Yoongi, it's time to get up."    
Jeongguk rolls over for the thousandth time, this time to look through half-lidded eyes at Seokjin, who's gently shaking the seemingly dead lump in the bed on the other side of their room.   
"C'mon, Yoongs, you gotta get up. Please." Seokjin keeps talking softly, and Yoongi groans and grumbles, shifting a little before Jeongguk finally sees him sit up, black hair ruffled and messy from rubbing against the pillow and barely opened eyes.   
And then the footsteps are making their way over to Jeongguk's side of the room, and he shuts his eyes quickly before Seokjin can pry over why he's already awake.   
"Jeongguk."   
Once. Jeongguk doesn't budge, instead opting for evening out his breathing a little more.   
"Jeongguk-ah."   
Twice. He shifts a little bit. He's all too good at this for his own benefit.   
"Ggukie, you need to get up now."   
Finally. The third time. Jeongguk grumbles a little, because Seokjin has flicked on the light, and it's not helping the ache behind his eyes at all. Instead, it seems to have spread to his temples instead and heightened into a dull throbbing, one that makes him want to shut his eyes and never open them again. But for Seokjin's sake (God knows he'll have hell trying to get Taehyung and Jimin up) Jeongguk sits up and meets the older's soft smile. He reaches out to ruffle his hair and Jeongguk closes his eyes again for a second before the hand is gone.   
"Don't go back to sleep, Gguk-ah. You too, Yoongi. Both of you better be up by the time I'm done with the others." He sounds ominous, but the slight hint of gentleness hidden behind his tone gives him away. Jeongguk nods anyways, and out of the corner of his eye he sees Yoongi nod as well. That's apparently enough confirmation for Seokjin, who turns away and walks out of the room in the direction of Taehyung and Hoseok's.   
  
Yoongi gets up first. He walks slowly across the room, sifting through his suitcase which he'd never bothered to unpack for a change of clothes before he heads into the bathroom and Jeongguk hears the shower turn on. He sits back against the headboard and massages his temple in an attempt to make the headache go away. It's to no avail, because it seems to only spread further. He's honestly way too cold for the middle of June and the fact that his fingers tremble slightly as he reaches for his thin-wired glasses from the nightstand is the first warning bell that rings in his head. Jeongguk swallows dryly and winces against the roughness of his throat, and he's certain that if he tried to speak his voice would crack in horrible ways. Eventually, he pulls himself up off the mattress and heads through the room. His limbs feel heavy and uncoordinated, and his muscles are aching like he's just ended a twelve hour dance practice. But Jeongguk sets it off as lack of sleep, and sets lack of sleep off as faint insomnia. He's fine. Fine.   
Jeongguk busies himself in slowly putting away whatever's left of his things as he waits for Yoongi to come out of the shower. The sun is slowly rising outside and pink and orange are splotching outside his window as he plugs his phone onto the charger. The door opens a few minutes later and Yoongi steps out, dressed in a fresh white shirt and black sweatpants. His hair is damp and slightly wavy from the humidity and his cheeks are colored red from the hot water, but he looks distinctly more awake and aware of his surroundings. He lays a hand on Jeongguk's shoulder as he walks past, his discreet way of saying good morning. Jeongguk nods back and steps into the bathroom, which is left steamy and humid after Yoongi's use of the shower. He's hoping a hot shower will ease the ache in his muscles and the soreness of his limbs, so he stands under the water for a long time, letting it stream against his skin. It does help, but the dull throbbing that had once been present in his head has split into full on pounding, and the rush of the water hitting the metal drain is only making it worse. He turns off the water and leans against the tile wall for a few minutes to compose himself before getting dressed slowly and scrubbing at his hair with the towel. As he stands in front of the mirror, he observes his reflection. The dark circles under his eyes are only slightly more prominent than most days and his skin is tinged a little bit paler than normal, but he looks the same other than that. Jeongguk just has to keep reminding himself that he's perfectly fine. Because he is. He's fine.   
  
Jeongguk finally steps out of the steamy bathroom back into the bedroom of the dorm and sighs, glancing around through hazy eyesight. Yoongi's bed is made, and...so is his. He'll have to thank Yoongi for that later. He throws his towel over the railing as he walks by and heads down the stairs. The hot water had soothed his soreness for a while, but it's returning with a vengeance now that he's out. It's painful as he walks down the stairs, and he breathes a sigh of relief when he finally makes it all the way down and pads into the kitchen.   
Seokjin is moving around the kitchen, already dressed and hair brushed and neatly parted away from his forehead. Namjoon is all the way at the end of the table, also fully dressed and scrolling through his phone between bites of whatever food Seokjin has set in front of him. Yoongi is across from Namjoon, and he's also taking bites of food, just at a much slower pace than the other. Jimin is next to Namjoon and his head is resting on the other's shoulder. He occasionally opens his mouth to let Namjoon feed him, but other than that he seems half asleep. But he too, is showered and ready. The other two, Taehyung and Hoseok, are nowhere to be seen. Jeongguk drops down into the chair next to Yoongi, gaining his hyung's attention. He lifts a hand to instinctually rub at his temples when the pounding flares at his sudden jolt, but drops it as soon as the older looks at him. Seokjin brushes right past him and sets a plate of something in front of him that looks suspiciously like last night's kimchi mixed with rice.   
It's right about then that Jeongguk realizes he has absolutely no appetite. Despite the fact that he's usually shoveling food down his throat no matter how early it is, he can't find the will to eat. The food in front of him just seems extremely unappetizing and the thought of eating the whole bowl is proving to make him slightly nauseous. But he picks up his chopsticks anyways and half-heartedly pokes at the food for a good ten minutes before actually lifting a bite to his mouth.   
  
"Jeongguk-ah, are you not hungry?" Seokjin's voice cutting through his thoughts comes as a surprise to Jeongguk and he startles a little before realizing the question is aimed at him. He shrugs a little and swirls his chopsticks through the rice some more.   
"Guess not." Is his feeble reply, and he cringes at the hint of raspiness under his voice.   
Both Seokjin and Yoongi's eyes shoot straight to their hairlines at that, and Jimin lifts his head up enough to look at Jeongguk questioningly.   
"You're not hungry." There's an air of disbelief to Yoongi's words, and Jeongguk would laugh if he didn't feel so unwilling to do anything.   
"I'm just--tired. I'll eat later, hyung, I promise. I'm just not hungry right now." The lie flows smoothly off of Jeongguk's tongue, and Seokjin buys it completely, for some reason.   
"Okay." He takes away Jeongguk's bowl and places it in front of Jimin instead, chiding him quietly to eat his own food and let Namjoon finish his, to which the older contradicts that he doesn't mind. Jeongguk continues to watch through blurred vision, and he rests a palm against his chin. Before long there's more pattering, and Hoseok appears with Taehyung shuffling behind him. Hoseok flashes a big smile at everybody and plops down next to Jimin, grin never leaving his face.   
"Good morning! I have arrived to make your morning better." Hoseok cheers, and Yoongi groans heavily before dropping his head into his arms. Jeongguk cracks a small smile and sees Taehyung plop down right next to him. The older boy looks completely exhausted, and Jeongguk would think he was sleep walking if his eyes didn't blink open every once in a while.   
He looks ready to fall back asleep as soon as his head hits the table, quite similar to what Jeongguk's afraid he might do, save for the rising volume of the chatter that's started up at the table. Taehyung eventually wakes up enough to join in, and before long he's smiling his boxy smile and laughing (very dramatically) at something Hoseok's said. Jeongguk focuses on not letting his eyes shut completely. He doesn't know what's wrong with him. He's way too lethargic and sore even for him, and the annoying nagging in his temple is not going away any time soon. He sips quietly at his water in an attempt to clear his throat, but the water just causes his throat to burn a little more. He's not sick. He can't be getting sick. Right now is the worst time possible to be sick. And through sheer willpower, Jeongguk succeeds in convincing himself that he's perfectly healthy and just needs to focus on getting more sleep. Definitely.   
Fifteen minutes later, then half an hour, and Seokjin is rushing them all out of the house to get into the car, where their driver has been waiting for them for at least twenty minutes by now. Jeongguk aims for a window seat, but all four are occupied by the time he gets in the car and the passenger seat is occupied by Seokjin. He ends up being fitted in between Hoseok and Taehyung, and Namjoon gets shoved between Yoongi and Jimin. Jeongguk sighs a little and closes his eyes, leaning his head against the back of the cracked leather seat. The full-on pounding in his head feels like someone is playing a very complicated drum rhythm over and over against his skull and the three bites he'd managed to swallow down from his breakfast are sitting heavily in the pit of his stomach. And he's so unbelievably cold for the middle of summer, cold enough that he'd grabbed a hoodie on the way out. He earned some strange looks from Seokjin and Namjoon, but he'd just said the plane would be cold and he wanted to be prepared. Now, he's shivering despite the fabric covering his arms.   
Eventually, he decides Taehyung's shoulder is very inviting and he leans against the boy's shoulder, closing his eyes against the light once again. There's no way he's comfortable, far from it, but he feels less stiff leaning on somebody. Immediately, as if out of instinct, Taehyung slings his arm around Jeongguk's shoulder and hugs him a little closer. Any other day, Jeongguk would shake him off, but right now he's glad for the extra warmth encircling him.   
"Tired, Ggukie?"   
Jeongguk just hums in response and tries to drown out the buzzing, eventually letting himself slip into a restless sleep. It seems like it's been just 5 minutes since he closed his eyes, but Taehyung is shaking him gently, telling him they're at the airport and he has to get up. Jeongguk gets up and mechanically takes his stuff, following his members as they head forward. Taehyung follows close behind him, mistaking his lethargic and drowsy movements as after effects of being woken up. But his head is full on pounding and throbbing now, and he puts his sunglasses over his eyes in an attempt to make it recede a little bit, and he's still shivering despite being right underneath the sun. Every step he takes, his limbs protest and burn, and he has to bite his lip hard so the grimace he's holding back doesn't make it onto his face. As they enter the airport, they pass dozens of food places, and despite not having eaten breakfast, Jeongguk's not the least bit hungry. So when Seokjin offers to buy them something to eat before they get on the plain, Jeongguk groans internally because he knows he won't be able to get out of this one after already lying once this morning. They stop outside some burger joint and the members bombard Jin with their orders. When he turns to Jeongguk, he sighs a little and orders fries. He gets an eyebrow raise from Seokjin but the order is placed anyways, and they head to take a seat at one of the tables. Namjoon checks the time and announces that they have just enough time if they eat quickly and head for their gate straight after. They're all clad in sunglasses and thankfully there weren't many fans at this airport, but Jeongguk knows the second they'll arrive back home in Korea for whatever award show they're going to, they'll be bombarded and pressed in from all sides by then. He shudders at the thought and prays that he'll feel better by the time they get home.   
"Yoongi-hyung, look! I won a prize!" Jimin is showing his phone excitedly to Yoongi, who looks fairly disturbed by whatever Jimin's doing.   
"What even is that?"   
Jimin pouts and lowers his phone a little.   
"I made a car out of candy the fastest and I won!" He explains, mood brightening the second Yoongi shows a little bit of interest in his game. Soon enough Jimin's showing Yoongi how to do it, and there's a hint of a smile on his face.   
Jeongguk doesn't particularly care, so he lowers his head onto his arms and rests them on the table, shutting his eyes and trying to block out the noise. If he's being honest, all he wants to do is go back home to their actual dorm, not their makeshift one in LA, and sleep in his own bed for hours on end and never wake up. The thought is extremely tempting. He manages to blank out for a good ten seconds before there's a hand on his back.   
"Jeongguk, are you okay?"   
Jeongguk looks up to see Hoseok's concerned face over his, and he nods.   
"I'm just tired. I didn't sleep that much last night."   
This lie is also smooth, almost smooth enough to not make Hoseok narrow his eyes. Almost.   
"O-kay. Make sure you eat, you'll feel sick on the plane if you eat nothing." Hoseok finishes, and turns back to Taehyung, bright grin returning to his face. Jeongguk groans and rubs his hands over his face, blinking hard to keep his eyes open. He's quite tempted to ask Namjoon if he has any painkillers, but then he'll have to go into a whole explanation as to why he has a headache, and he decides it's not worth it for now. A few minutes later, a smiling waitress arrives with their food balanced on trays in both her hands. She says each order fast enough to make Jeongguk's head spin as she places it in front of the designated member, and he looks distastefully as the fries are slid to him in a small red-and-white checkered basket.  
"Enjoy your food!" Her smile is too bright for his taste and it's starting to annoy him a little. On either side of him, Hoseok and Seokjin begin inhaling their extremely large meals, but Jeongguk picks at his fries. The thought of shoveling the greasy fried food down his throat is enough to make him nauseous, and the rising scents of the rest of his member's food is not quite helping it. But he eats, he has to eat. If he doesn't, he will more than definitely be questioned and interrogated by each member personally on whether he's feeling okay, and if he is, why he's not eating. And he just--he doesn't have a good explanation. That's all it is. He's not really sure himself why he's not hungry either; on a normal day he'd be eating twice the amount of everyone else.   
Slowly, he lifts one up and chews it until he can't anymore, swallowing it and then moving on. He eats as much as he can, which turns out to be three quarters of the little bin and dumps the rest in Taehyung's plate, who just shovels it down with the rest of his food happily. Thankfully, he doesn't get any more questions, but the eyebrow raises and pursed lips aren't uncommon from Hoseok and Seokjin's directions.   
"Alright guys, we gotta go. Jimin-ah, get off your phone, you can play your Candy Roader or whatever later, and Hoseok, please don't pet other people's puppies. Just because this nice couple will let you doesn't mean every other person will be like that. Alright, let's go."   
Seokjin, Taehyung, and Yoongi get up immediately, trashing their leftovers and following Namjoon. Jeongguk lifts himself up slowly and follows them. Hoseok is reluctant to leave the puppy he's found and he's saying heartfelt goodbyes to the dog, and Jimin is grumbling under his breath about how the game is called Candy _Racer_ , not Candy _Roader_.  
  
After that, it's a blurry haze in Jeongguk's mind as they board the plane. Jeongguk is seated next to Taehyung (again) and Hoseok and Yoongi are across the aisle. Behind him, Seokjin, Namjoon, and Jimin reside in the three-seater. As the plane takes off, Jeongguk feels the pressure in his head rise and he shuts his eyes, curling up best as he can in the seat and resettling his head on Taehyung's shoulder. The older doesn't budge, so he tries to go to sleep. He's in a shallow slumber for the better part of the next hour before he's awake again, and extremely aware of the waves of nausea crashing over him. Whatever he ate is sitting heavy and uncomfortably and there's nausea licking at the back of his throat, bad enough that he's scared to open his mouth for fear that it'll come hurling out of him. He tries to swallow and take deep breaths, and he attempts to will the nausea away. When it settles a little, he turns to Taehyung, who's leaning against the window, half-asleep. He knows his hyung usually keeps painkillers in his bag because more often than he'd like to admit, he gets headaches that can throw off his whole schedule if he doesn't drug them off immediately.  
  
"Hyung?"  
"Hmm." Taehyung hums in response to let Jeongguk know he's listening.   
"Do you still have painkillers in your bag?"   
Taehyung is more awake now, and looking at Jeongguk with concern clear in his eyes.   
"Yeah, are you okay?"   
Jeongguk shrugs a shoulder and gives a sort of half-nod.   
"I have a headache." He plays down his symptoms but gives him something to work with. The thing with Taehyung is, a little goes a long way. As long as he gives him a somewhat explanation, he'll take it over anything.   
Taehyung reaches for the army green bag he takes with him and ruffles through it, pulling out a charger and a pair of headphones before he reaches the white pill bottle. He shakes out two of the bright orange tablets and drops them in Jeongguk's palm, and the younger reaches for the bottle of water he still has resting against his side. He places the tablets on his tongue and chases them down with water before capping it and dropping it again. This time he's pulled against Taehyung's side by the older himself, the seat divider pulled up. Jeongguk leans against him, grateful for the warmth, and tries to close his eyes and fall through darkness again. Eventually his eyelids flutter all the way shut and he manages to block out the world enough to fall asleep.   
  
When he wakes up again, there's darkness outside the plane windows and Taehyung is awake, earbuds in his ears and silver hair falling like a curtain over his eyes. He's looking out the window, but Jeongguk vaguely doubts he can see much because outside, it's pitch black. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks the time. It's dead in the middle of the night. Yoongi and Hoseok are both sleeping, hugging each other tightly in their unconscious states. He can hear Namjoon and Jimin snoring behind him, so he doesn't bother to turn around. However, as he's getting more and more awake, his symptoms are being thrown right at him like rocks. The painkillers have worn off, so the headache that had receded into a dull throbbing is back with full vengeance and he's shivering, despite the jacket he's still wearing. The back of his throat is completely sore now, and it sends off warning sparks of pain every time he swallows. He's in trouble. The whole plane ride, he stays quiet and huddled up in his seat, long after Taehyung falls asleep. He doesn't move, drifting in and out of consciousness until he's being shaken awake a while later.   
  
"Ggukie, cmon, get up. We have to get off now." Hoseok is shaking him awake, and he very much does not appreciate it because it's making the pain in his head flare insistently. But he listens to his hyung and picks his bag off the floor, slinging it over his shoulder and following behind his hyungs. They walk off the plain and into the airport, and immediately Jeongguk is swallowed by flashing lights, clicking camera shutters, and speed talking that slurs into buzz in his ears. Vaguely he feels someone wrap an arm around him and guide him through the sea of people, and he just looks down and tries to calm himself. When they're safely out of the airport and in their car, he turns to see who's still hanging onto him. It's Yoongi, and his arm is still wrapped tightly around Jeongguk, his lips pursed in a straight line and eyes narrowed.   
  
"Okay, what's going on with you, Gguk? You've been so quiet all morning and you nearly just had a panic attack there." Yoongi wastes zero time getting to the point, and Jeongguk flinches a little under his cold gaze. He's never been good at lying to people, and now he's trapped.   
"I just--I have a headache." Jeongguk mumbles and sinks down in his seat a little, casting his eyes downwards. He really hates being babied, whether it be by his parents, his brother, or his bandmates. And he knows if someone tells Seokjin, he will be force-fed soup and quarantined to his bed no matter how much he'll protest. And he's not sick. He needs to sleep this headache off, and the rest of his symptoms will disappear along with it. At least, he hopes.   
"A headache. That's it?" Yoongi's voice drips with disbelief, but Jeongguk nods stubbornly.   
"That's it." He's not completely lying, because that's what's causing the most trouble right now, but he has helpfully left out the other half of horrible things he's feeling. Yoongi blinks at him for a couple of seconds before he nods and sighs a little.   
"Then you should have told someone. Or taken painkillers. I'm sure Tae has some."   
"I did. I got some from hyung on the plane."   
"Then just sleep it off when you get home. You're sure you're okay?"   
Jeongguk nods and settles against Yoongi. Neither of them are usually big on skinship, but right now neither of them really care. Jeongguk breathes in the smell of detergent that always clings to Yoongi's clothes and relaxes a little bit. They don't separate from each other the whole time, just letting Taehyung and Hoseok's bickering set in as background noise and Jin and Namjoon's soft chiding as buzzing in their ears.   
The car reaches the dorm a while later, and Jeongguk waits patiently for his turn to exit the car. He and Yoongi get out last, as they were shoved into the very back seats of the van. Jeongguk climbs out and stands in the humid June air, but he's still cold. It's beginning to be slightly worrysome, but he convinces himself once again that he's perfectly fine and he needs sleep, that's all.   
He follows his members numbly into the dorm, which smells musty and unused from the amount of times they've left it locked and empty. Jeongguk lets his feet direct him down the hall to his and Hoseok's room. He dumps his bag on the floor next to his bed and collapses on top of the bed, pulling the blankets over himself. He doesn't bother to change out of his clothes or turn off the light. He's out as soon as he hits the bed, too tired and numb to neither move nor care. He hears the vague sound of footsteps hitting the floor and he buries his face further into the pillow. The sound of the bed across from his creaking and a deep sigh from Hoseok alerts Jeongguk that his roommate has entered, and he turns off the light, much to Jeongguk's pleasure. He'll hug Hoseok, as soon as he's not too sore and cold to get up. Jeongguk sleeps for the rest of the night restlessly, tossing and turning just like the few nights before. And when he wakes up, it's as if all of hell has unleashed it's wrath upon him. His head is pounding so hard it's making him nauseous and it hurts to bring air up his throat, let alone talking. He's cold, so, so, so cold and his vision is reduced to a hazy blur of the objects in his room. His limbs are heavy and sore and they ache in protest every time he moves, and that's when he has to accept reality. He's sick.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. honey, you're caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's caught.

See, the thing about Jeongguk is, he's got an extremely stubborn nature. He'll push off any sign of weakness until he physically is not able to anymore. Like that time he got the stomach flu and kept quiet until he threw up all over the practice floor, which in return made Hoseok freak out and Seokjin quarantine him to his bed for a full four days until he was satisfied he had recovered.  
So when he wakes up, still tangled in the embraces of his fever-induced nightmares filled with shadowy figures and muddled words, sweating but shivering cold at the same time, he's come to the point where he can no longer convince himself that he's not sick. His dark hair is matted to his forehead and he's shivering so bad it's hard to believe no one turned the air conditioner to the lowest setting last night. Hoseok is sound asleep and breathing heavily in the bed across from him, and Jeongguk is envious of the reset he actually seems to be getting. The bare contents of his stomach are twisting and turning and flipping around in every acrobatic move known to mankind, and he's actually surprised he's managed to keep them down until now.   
It's only a few more minutes before he's slinging shaky legs over the edge of his bed and stumbling through the dark, using the wall as support so he doesn't collapse while walking. The kitchen seems so far away and he's getting dizzier by the second, and he has to lean against the wall to regain his balance as soon as he reaches the hallway. The hallway has never seemed so long and winding before this moment, and it feels like an eternity before he's finally reached the kitchen. HIs bare feet grow numb against the cold tile of the kitchen floor and the objects are hazy and muddled together, blurred by his unclear vision. He's so, so cold and the warm blankets of his bed invite him back. Jeongguk feels along the dark cabinets and presses his head against the wall for a second, willing the pounding threatening to split his skull to go away long enough to look for what he's walked all the way here for. Finally, the metal handle of the cabinet hits his hand and he has to look for the large white bottle of painkillers that always sits in the back of the shelf. Once he locates it, shaking out the pills is a whole other task. The bottle is child-locked and his palms are sweaty and his fingers are shaking, and it takes a good five minutes before the cap finally pops off and hits the floor with a tapping noise as it rolls away. Two circular blue tablets sit in Jeongguk's palm and he winces as he swallows them dry, just making the soreness of his throat send sparks of pain screaming at him. The walk back to his room is just as bad as the walk to the kitchen and he all but collapses in his bed, curling up into the smallest ball possible and pulling his blankets as close to him as possible. Good timing, Jeongguk. Good timing.   
  
The next morning is a blurry haze and it passes by quickly, filled with members rushing around to shower quickly and eat whatever little they could before they have to get in the car to reach the venue in time. It's true, the ceremony isn't for a few hours, but the process of hair, makeup, and rehearsal takes longer than one would expect. All thoughts of concern from yesterday are wiped from Seokjin's mind as he shakes Jeongguk awake and tells him to get in the shower immediately. He's a little less sore than last night, thanks to his journey for painkillers, so walking to the bathroom isn't as bad as he'd assumed. He turns the water on and looks at his reflection in the mirror. Honestly, he kind of resembles the zombies from their Run BTS episode. His skin is several shades paler than the healthy tan he usually sports and there are darkening circles under his eyes. The only color on his face comes from the pink flush sitting high on his cheekbones. He stands under the water for a long time, until the water begins to scald his fever-flushed skin and the sound of the water hitting the metal drain makes his headache spark with aggression. He turns off the water and dresses quickly, wincing as his quick movements make his vision blur again and his stomach turn dangerously. He's out of the shower just as Hoseok gets out of bed, and he hangs his towel and leaves the room before Hoseok can undoubtedly ask the question he's about to.   
The rest of the morning, no one pays much attention to him until they get in the car about an hour later, all freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes, which they'll be told to change out of within the next couple of hours. Jeongguk sits all the way in the back, claiming the third row window seat for himself. He tucks his legs up under him, which Seokjin will definitely scold him for, but he can't find it in himself to really care at the moment. He rests his head against the glass pane of the window and shuts his eyes, sweatshirt hood pulled up over his head so his face is shaded. He feels the shake as another person climbs in and sits down heavily next to him, but opening his eyes and looking to see who it is seems like a task not worth carrying out, so he keeps his eyes shut and clenches his jaw so the grimace he's fighting off doesn't make it onto his face.   
The car fills with chatter as it begins to accelerate and Jeongguk groans softly, temples throbbing and protesting against the change of volume. The car going over potholes is sending wave after wave of nausea over him and he has to take deep breaths and grit his teeth to fight it off. As the bickering from the front seats continue, there's a sudden warmth that attaches itself to his side and he shifts a little, cracking open an eye to figure out who the intruder of his personal misery is. Jimin has pulled himself against Jeongguk's side, and he's got his bottom lip worried between his teeth, a gesture he always takes when he's worried or nervous.   
  
"Hey, you okay, Gguk? You're awfully quiet." Jimin's voice is soft, and Jeongguk almost breaks right there, almost tells Jimin how awful he's feeling and how much he just wants to go back to bed, but he stops himself. He's the youngest, and there's no way he's allowing himself to become the weak link as well. He's not an idiot, he knows most bands have one. Sometimes, Jeongguk can't help but feel like it's him, another reason for his silence.   
"I'm okay. I couldn't sleep last night, so I kind of have a headache. But I'm fine." Jeongguk tries his best to reassure the older, but his voice cracks a little and he has to clear his throat and start again.   
"Do you want me to make them shut up?" Jimin's smiling now, Jeongguk can tell by the sound of his voice.   
"You don't have to, I'll be--"   
"Guys, can you be quiet for a while? My ears are buzzing because you never shut up. Love you, hyung! Stop looking at me like that."   
There's a series of grumbles and muttered words from the seats ahead, but the car does become relatively quiet. As much as they may grumble about being "hyungs" and "disrespectful maknae line members", they will listen to anything if one of the maknaes asked.   
"Thanks." Jeongguk turns a little and in return gets enveloped by Jimin's warmth and the smell of fresh detergent and for some reason, lemons.   
"No problem, Ggukie. Sleep, we've got a long ride."   
  
It's a long while later when Jeongguk's being shaken awake, Jimin's sweet voice sounding from above him.   
"We're here, Jeongguk, you gotta get up now."   
Jeongguk shifts awake slowly and the first thing he's painfully aware of is the nauseating pounding of his head, bad enough that his eyes start to tear up a little bit, completely against his will, he might add. It's making him even more nauseous and wow, he didn't know it was this hard to hide being sick. Slowly, he lets Jimin guide him out of the car and help him up to the venue. With Jimin leading him, he closes his eyes and trusts that the older won't let him fall.  
The dressing room is quieter than the halls buzzing with noise from different staff members and managers, and Jeongguk keeps his eyes shut from the light the whole time the makeup artist is painting his face with foundation. A light tap to his shoulder indicates that she's finished, and he cracks his lids open enough to gauge where he's going and stumble to the long sofa a few feet away from him. He curls up in the corner and tucks his feet under him, shivering slightly from the cold. They don't perform until later in the ceremony, so Jeongguk's going to stay as still as he possibly can. Except, his stomach has other ideas. It's only about five minutes before the contents of his stomach begin to churn repeatedly again and this time, he's sure the bile making its way up his throat is bound to overflow. It's through hazy eyesight and panicked thoughts that he's jolting up from the couch and darting into the little side bathroom that's thankfully only a few meters away from where he's standing. He has just enough time to let the door swing completely shut behind him before he curls over the toilet and proceeds to bring up everything he's eaten in the past 24 hours. The sharp sting of the acid and the retching leaves his throat raw and sore, more so than it was before. There are unwanted tears gathering at the corners of his eyes and a thin layer of sweat that's started to bead down from his temple, and Jeongguk is starting to think maybe passing out isn't the worst outcome of this situation. He just has to pray that no one will open the door and catch sight of him sprawled out across the tiles, breathless and sweating like he's just run a marathon. It's ten, maybe fifteen minutes later when Jeongguk wills himself to move, flush the toilet, and rinse his mouth out as best as he can. He has zero idea how he's planning to make it through continuous body racking spins and jolts on stage while he dances, and the thought of blacking out across the cool tiles is becoming more and more tempting as the clock ticks by.   
Eventually, however, Jeongguk makes it out of the bathroom and stumbles back to his previous position, only to find the couch now occupied by Yoongi, who's stretched out and fallen asleep, phone screen dark and hanging limply from his hand. He presses a hand to his temple and takes a deep breath before crossing the room and opting for sitting against the wall instead, drawing his knees to his chest and resting his forehead against his arms. He is so, so screwed.   
  
A lot of buzzing conversations and ear-shattering shrieks (mostly from Jimin and Hoseok) later, their manager is coming in and ushering them out to their celebrity seats, as the show has just about started and the MCs are opening up the show. Jeongguk takes Taehyung's offered hand and pulls himself up before hiding a wince behind his sleeve as a yawn and following his band members, who are more than excited to be leaving the damned dressing room and actually going somewhere. Jeongguk, on the other hand, would very much love to turn right back around and spend the rest of the night on the stupid sofa.   
_Just a few more hours, then you can go home and sleep. Only a bit longer, you can do this._  
Jeongguk chants a pep talk in his brain as they're led out into the venue and holy crap, it's loud. It takes every will, every fiber of Jeongguk's being to not fall over and cry waterfalls at how bad his head is throbbing. The only pro side is that the venue is dark, but it offers little relief over the thundering music that's being played through the overhead speakers.   
As he said before, screwed. Completely, totally, bucketloads of hot water, screwed.   
  
They make their way over to their seats and Jeongguk stumbles a little, gaining concerned glances from both the managers and Namjoon, who reaches to steady him instinctively. Jeongguk brushes off with a smile and a mumble about tripping, but he can't be any happier when they finally reach the red velvet colored seats and he can stop moving. He gets stuffed between Yoongi and Hosoek, but he breathes a sigh of relief when he's immobilized and he doesn't have to walk, dizzy and nauseous as hell. Before long more bands and individual singers are moving past, and he bows as well as he can, only half getting up from his seat. Until, and Jeongguk never thought he'd have to say this, Got7 walk past and decide to take the seats right in front of them. Which means Jeongguk will have to talk. Which means Jeongguk will have to socialize. Which means Jeongguk will have to do something with his uncooperative body. Which just makes him want to cry even more.   
"Namjoon-ah!" The cry rings past Jeongguk's ears and the whole band turns to look as a head of dark hair comes flying towards them, and Namjoon stands up, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Jackson flees past the rest of his band and nearly crashes into Namjoon, who only sighs but laughs and reciprocates the hug. Heavily, slowly, unwillingly, Jeongguk stands with the rest of his band to meet the rest of the band, who, unlike Jackson, are sanely, humanely making their way over to him and his bandmates.   
First comes Jinyoung, who greets them politely and bows, before making his way over to sit between Yoongi and Seokjin, who make room for him almost immediately. Next is Jaebum, who follows Jinyoung's procedure with a straight face before grinning once Jimin waves him over. Youngjae does the same, grin not leaving his face either, and Hoseok's bright smile persuades him to go chat with him. Mark smiles and bows and goes to Taehyung, followed closely by BamBam, who also heads directly to Taehyung. His youngest hyung accepts them both with welcoming arms and bright, boxy smiles, and finally Yugyeom appears. The maknae of the other band, barely younger than Jeongguk himself, smiles and bows politely to all of Jeongguk's hyungs before heading over to Jeongguk, soft smile grazing at his lips.   
"Hey." He greets, and Jeongguk forces himself to smile. It's not that he doesn't want to see Yugyeom, in fact, it's quite the opposite. Jeongguk hasn't seen the 97-liner in a while, and he'd actually been thinking about contacting him a few days earlier. It's just that all hell has decided to break loose over him right now and he's just so thankful that he gets to sit down and not do anything.   
"Hi." He greets back, and cringes as his voice rasps and cracks, even over the one word he says. Yugyeom's brow instantly creases as he sits next to Jeongguk and his eyes flash concern.   
"Wow, your voice is shot. Are you okay?"   
Jeongguk just nods a little, clearing his throat a couple of times, but just succeeding in getting his throat to send more sparks of pain about.   
"Losing my voice, I think." Jeongguk answers, and Yugyeom nods a little, wincing in empathy. However, it's only a couple of minutes before the other begins to talk again, probably to cover both him and Jeongguk speaking. Before long, he's listening to a detailed story about how Yugyeom, BamBam, and Youngjae pulled a prank on Jaebum while he was sleeping and he ignored them for two days. And again, it's not that he doesn't want to hear the story, it actually sounds interesting, it's that the pounding of his head is making it hard for him to concentrate on anything else except that and the constant turning of his stomach and the chills running up his spine.   
Finally, finally the lights flash and the first performer comes out. Jeongguk hasn't been listening to the (no offense) droning voices of the hosts, and the faces all look the same muddled together, so he can't quite see who it is. All he knows is that it's way, way, way too loud and he might actually die here like this and the inscription on his gravestone will read, "died because he's a dumbass". The performance ends, awards are announced, another performer steps up, more awards, more performers, too many lights, too much noise, dizzy, dizzy, dizzy. About 6 performances later and tens of thousands of awards, Jeongguk stands up shakily. His stomach is convulsing threateningly again and he has to get out of here before the rest of his stomach's contents make a reappearance on the linoleum floor beneath him. He tells Yugyeom that he'll be back and taps Namjoon, who's still listening to Jackson chat his ear off with a smile on his face.   
"Hyung, I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back." He says, through only slightly gritted teeth. Namjoon looks up from his conversation and nods, moving his feet to let Jeongguk pass through smoothly. Jeongguk heads past, keeping the palm of his hand pressed against his stomach as he walks, head bowed down. If he doesn't look at anybody, he won't have to greet them. Luckily, he remembers where the bathroom is, because they walked straight past it earlier when they were leaving their dressing room. He speeds up as the white door comes into view and he pushes it open, sprinting into one of the stalls and dropping his head over the bowl for the second time. His stomach is empty, so it's mainly just clear stomach acid that comes up, but that doesn't stop his body from trying to heave itself dry anyways. The retching is taking a number on his throat, which hurts like hell now. He's too busy trying to get rid of his organs that he doesn't hear the bathroom door swing open and the sharp intake of breath that comes straight after. In his haze, he'd forgotten to lock the stall door behind him, and the thought just strikes him as he slumps back against the wall, closing his eyes.   
So he's not completely surprised when the sound of footsteps sounds and a voice sounds above him.   
  
"Jeongguk?" It's definitely not one of his hyungs, he would've recognized it immediately if it were. There's also the faint undertones of an accent lingering beneath the syllables of his name. But the familiarity of the voice gets Jeongguk to pry open his eyes and tilt his face to the left so the figure's face falls in his line of sight.   
Mark is standing directly next to him, bottom lip worried between his teeth and a small furrow creasing his brow. Jeongguk hasn't actually talked much to the older in the past, both of their mainly quiet and reserved natures playing their parts every time they met before. Sure, there's been the occasional "hey, are you doing well? Good to see you." but other than that the two haven't had much interaction.   
"Wow, okay, what--Jesus Christ, what happened to you?" Mark seems at a loss for words, and Jeongguk knows he must look like quite a sight, sprawled out on the floor, sweating profusely and breathing heavily.   
Jeongguk can only find it in himself to shrug slightly and tilt his head back upwards. He's embarrassed that someone is actually seeing him like this. Hell, he'd be embarrassed even if it was Seokjin because he absolutely hates being seen when he's at a weak point. He's trying hard to blink away the tears that are welling up in the corners of his eyes. You know that stage of sickness when you just want your mom and no one else can make it better like she would? Yeah, Jeongguk's way past that stage, and his mom, while in the same country, is miles away. And someone from another band is hovering above him and he's sore and achy and tired and God, could this situation get any worse? Yes, yes it could. Because mere seconds later, Jeongguk's stomach decides to try and turn itself inside out again and he's curled over the porcelain bowl again, heaving painfully for the third? fourth? time today. He's lost count, honestly.   
There's a hand on his back after that and it starts rubbing circles slowly, almost tentatively, as if the owner is afraid that he'll get pushed off. When he finally gets a break, he gets a look at Mark, who's crouched behind him, worry evident in his eyes, even though it's not his own bandmate who's sick.   
"Jesus, who did you murder in your past life?" Mark attempts at a joke, but all Jeongguk can do is give him a small upturn of his lips.   
It's a little unnerving, honestly, to see the hyung side of mark, after all the times Yugyeom has complained that he swears Mark is actually younger than him and he's not fit to call the oldest in the band. All jokes, but still, it's given him an impact.  
Mark reaches out slowly and brushes the back of his hand against Jeongguk's forehead before pulling away and hissing.   
  
"You're literally burning up, man. Do you want me to--no, I should. Hang on, I'll call Taehyung. I'm pretty sure I still have his number." Mark turns away for a second to scroll through his phone contacts and Jeongguk shudders, the impact of ejecting all his food and staying glued to a cold tile floor finally having an effect on him. He's tired and worn out, and he just wants his bed and his mother, who's unfortunately not around to console him and hold him close and stay by his side the whole time he's sick. Honestly, at this point, he's quite ready to let Seokjin coddle him and force-feed him soup and medicine and check his temperature every ten minutes. He wants, needs someone. Hell, he's already missing Mark's cool touch, that's how far gone he is.   
  
"Hello? Yeah, Tae. Your maknae is running a really bad fever, you should come get him."  
"What? I don't know, I found him here when I walked in. He was in the middle of trying to eject his organs."   
"Yeah, I will. Okay."

Jeongguk's barely listening, his mind is slipping in and out of consciousness, and the tears he'd been trying so hard to hold back are now slipping freely from his eyes and burning hot trails down his cheeks, yet he can't quite find it in himself to care anymore, even when Mark turns from his phone screen and comes closer to him again.   
"Hey, don't cry. You're fine, your bandmates are coming to get you, and you'll be okay, yeah? Hey, no more of that." Fingers are wiping away his tears and even though it's not one of his own bandmates, his brothers, he'll take Mark over nobody at all right now. He hears Mark mumble something out in English, something he doesn't even want to try to get his brain to comprehend. He lets his eyelids slip closed once again and he feels Mark's presence again next to him, and it's all slipping slowly into darkness.   
The last thing that registers in his already muddled brain is the sound of footsteps echoing over the tile, resonating towards him.   
Someone's here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys!  
> i'm sorry it took me so long to get this out, the first time i wrote it my browser shut down in the middle and my whole chapter got deleted and i had to rewrite it. i was so pissed, honestly.  
> i know this chapter isn't that fluffy or cuddly but i promise the next one will be full of caring hyungs and all that stuff.  
> please, leave comments, tell me what you think!  
> also, thank you for over 1000 reads, i honestly didn't expect it. i know it's not much compared to others, but it's something big for me.  
> and i appreciate all the kudos <3!  
> stick around for the next and probably last chapter, unless i have to split my thoughts into two! thank you again!


	3. love and cuddles

The next time Jeongguk wakes up from his blacked out phase, it's the middle of the night and moonlight is streaming in through his open window and somehow, he's in his bed and his room smells like disinfectant and he's very, extremely painfully aware of the churning nausea that's coiling up like hot fire in his stomach and licking dangerously at the back of his throat, threatening to explode at any moment. That's what get's Jeongguk out of bed, stumbling over his feet and tripping all the way to the bathroom, sprawling himself over the cold tiles and going into another round of vile retching and heaving up what can't even classify as undigested food anymore. It's just acid and it burns and stings his already scraped raw throat. And suddenly, there's a hand on his back, a cool hand thats rubbing up and down his spine and a presence next to him, whispering comforting words as his round of throwing up is yet to even come close to cease. And it hurts like hell and what did he do to deserve this? When it seems like he's finally run and heaved himself completely dry of anything to get rid of, he slumps against the body that's been holding him up the whole time, as sickening as the scene might have been.  
"Easy, Ggukie, you're okay. You really got it bad this time, huh?"  
And that's definitely the voice of Seokjin, warm and comforting and motherly and _home_. Definitely not his mother, but damn well close enough, and he's strong and steady and firm and just there, and that one sentence is all it takes before Jeongguk has had enough. He's tired of suffering and everything is sore and achy and painful and his headache is still threatening to split his skull in half and the cramps are still seizing through his stomach and then he's gone.   
Jeongguk bursts into tears right at Seokjin's words, fully sending the other into a state of panic. He clings to Seokjin, burying his face in his chest and full-out sobbing, cries resonating and echoing in the small dimly-lit bathroom. Thankfully, Seokjin is quick to break out of his shock and he goes into full mother-mode. Immediately his arms wrap tight around Jeongguk and pull him close, hugging him tighter than he's ever been hugged before and rocking him back and forth gently.   
"Oh, poor baby. Aw, baby, don't cry, you're okay. You're okay, you're okay." Seokjin's voice is smooth and sweet, like honey, and his touch is warm and supportive, and he only ever calls Jeongguk pet names when it's bad, really bad.   
He can't get his tears to stop, but he feels like he's allowed to cry. All self dignity is thrown outside the window, every last shred of embarrassment or care is ripped up and thrown away because he just needs to be held, consoled, needs to be told everything will be okay, needs to know he'll be okay.   
And that is exactly what Seokjin provides.   
"Okay, baby, you'll be okay, yeah? Everything's gonna be alright, hyung is gonna take care of you and you'll be back to punching me in no time, sweetheart." Despite his playful tone, Jeongguk can hear the hints of underlaying concern and worry and stress straining his voice and it only makes him cry _harder_ , now out of guilt because it's his fault he's made Seokjin like this, his fault for the concern and stress. Soon enough, Jeongguk's sobbing turns into choking and gagging, and he's back over the porcelain bowl only moments later, just dry heaving out of fear that he'll throw up all over himself and Seokjin. There's one hand stroking the back of his neck and the other is holding Jeongguk up, because he's gone completely limp and he's sure if not for his hyung, he'd face-plant forward and hit his head against the seat, or fall completely into the bowl. And then finally, finally the torture lets up for a while and he all but collapses back to the ground, silent tears still streaming down his cheeks and sweat beading at his temple and his shivers shaking his hands and making his teeth chatter loudly. Seokjin never leaves his side but just holds him close again, whispering sweet words that Jeongguk can't decipher but are a means of comfort nonetheless. Soft thumbs wipe away his tears and strong arms guide him into a sitting position against the wall of the bathroom. A cup of water is held to his lips and he sips it, leaning back forward to spit it out into the toilet.   
"Okay, baby, do you think you can stand up?"   
Jeongguk shakes his head fast and regrets immediately when the room tilts and his vision blurs straight after.   
"Okay, that's okay. Hyung will carry you, yeah?"   
Before waiting for answer, the same firm hold grasps him as Seokjin lifts him up bridal-style and carries him out of the dark bathroom and into the hallway. Jeongguk wraps his arms around Seokjin's neck and buries his face into the crook between his face and neck, breathing shallow and raspy. He's taller than Seokjin so his legs dangle in the air, but he's close to someone and he's being held, and that's enough for him. Eventually they reach Jeongguk's room and Seokjin walks carefully to his bed, putting him down slowly. But Hoseok's bed is empty, and the thought floats around in his muddled brain which isn't quite cooperating enough with him to comprehend what's happening.   
"Aish, Hobi, how did you--you know what, he can sleep on the floor." Seokjin sighs exasperatedly, but his face changes from mildly amused to worried in a split second as he lays eyes on Jeongguk again. Jeongguk reaches out for his hyung, missing the contact already and the older is quick to return to his side and hug him tight again.   
"You're burning up, Ggukie. No wonder you're so miserable, that's a pretty bad temperature you've worked up there, huh?" Seokjin talks to him as if he's a child, but Jeongguk doesn't mind. The hazy feeling from a couple of days ago has returned and his eyesight is glassy and foggy and all he knows is that he's cold and tired and someone needs to stay with him. He's done being miserable alone.   
"I'll be right back, okay, baby?" Soekjin stands, and Jeongguk whimpers.   
"No--I-don't--leave-" Jeongguk can't form a proper sentence, but Seokjin is backing out of the room slowly and why is he leaving him he needs to come back right now.   
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll be right back, I promise. I'm sorry!" Seokjin turns and whirls out and Jeongguk feels the hot tears burning the corners of his eyes again. But no, he's not going to let himself cry again, he's 21, not 5. But his argument is completely contradicted when a tear rolls down his cheek at the loss of warmth and comfort. Seokjin takes too long to come back, and Jeongguk nearly cries in relief when the oldest returns to the room, various bottles in his hands. Seokjin nearly drops them again when he trips and he just barely catches himself, having the dignity to look embarrassed before his face creases with worry again and he drops them on the bed, sitting next to Jeongguk. There's a rattling of bottles, pills being shaken out, and Jeongguk turns away slightly at the sight of having to swallow something.   
"Can you take them, Jeonggukie? They'll make you feel better." Seokjin moves a little closer, tone just as pleasant and soft and sweet as before. When Jeongguk shakes his head again, he feels Seokjin sigh.   
"Please, baby? For me?" He's switched completely over to pleading, and Jeongguk can't find it in him to refuse anymore.   
Hesitantly, he faces Seokjin and holds out a trembling hand. He's still shivering and soaked with sweat, but all he wants to do is go to sleep. Seokjin brightens and drops two circular blue tablets into Jeongguk's waiting palm. He shoves them both in his mouth at once and dry swallows them, waving off Seokjin's offer of water. Seokjin rubs a hand across his spine and flinches away, hissing slightly.   
"Your shirt is soaked, baby. Aish, why didn't I--okay, hang on one second."  
He gets up and moves around for a second before returning, a blue and red shirt that is definitely not Jeongguk's in his hand. Wordlessly, Jeongguk lifts his arms for Seokjin to take off his shirt. His touch is cold, but it's gentle as he slides Jeongguk's damp shirt off and replaces it with the dry, soft cotton that already feels warmer against his skin. By now, he's dead tired and all he wants to do is crawl into a ball and sleep for an eternity. But there's still faint nausea swirling in the pit of his stomach and there's a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that yes, he's definitely going to be getting back up again tonight. But Seokjin is helping him back down and laying him against the pillows, pulling his blankets up tight around him, though they do little to stop his quivering which is beginning to shake the bed.   
"Stay."  
One word Jeongguk says, one that gets his hyung to turn right back around and face his bed. He sits down on the edge and pulls his legs over, straightening them out and sitting up against the headboard.   
"I'm not going anywhere, baby. Sleep, hyung is here."  
And yes, he feels like death warmed over. But for now, maybe it'll be okay.   


It's morning when Jeongguk blinks his eyes open again, and the moonlight previously shining through his window has switched out to beaming rays of the sun that just about matched the brightness of Hoseok's smile on a happy day. And thank the deity above, his headache is just a mere throbbing in the back of his skull and the nausea has calmed down just enough for him to relax slightly without the fear of puking all over his bedsheets. The house is quiet, way too quiet for it to be Bangtan's dorm. Most of the time, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jimin (and usually himself) will be screaming, shouting, and shrieking curses at the top of their lungs, Seokjin will be hollering after them to watch their tongues, Namjoon will be reciting their schedule to no one in particular, and Yoongi probably won't even be awake yet. But right now, there's a deadly silence over the dorms and Jeongguk's almost sure he's alone.   
They left him alone? By himself?   
The thought of being stuck alone in his bed and miserable all day is enough to make the tears return, and Jeongguk is considering calling one of is hyungs back when the sound of light footsteps echoes through the hallway and he freezes, a cold sweat breaking out over his spine. His door slowly creaks open, and a head pokes through before the figure walks in completely.  
Jimin.   
Thank God, he's not alone.   
"Look who's awake. Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." Jimin jokes, but like Seokjin, there's definite underlying concern to his words.   
Jeongguk tries to smile a little, but it comes off as more a grimace than a smile. That gets Jimin to sigh a little and pad over to his bedside. He's just now noticed that there's a steaming mug in Jimin's hands, which he's being extremely careful not to spill. He sets it on the bedside table before turning to smile at Jeongguk, a smile much more pronounced and genuine than his own.   
"You think you can sit up, Ggukie?"   
At his answering nod, Jimin moves quickly, helping prop him up against his pillows and lifting the blanket over his legs so it's covering him until just under his stomach. Then he reaches for the mug which he's set on the table next to the bed and holds it out, bottom lip tugged between his teeth.   
"Try to drink some of this. Throwing up your organs probably didn't help your throat."   
Jeongguk furrows his brows at that. He's pretty sure Seokjin was the only one who witnessed that (other than Mark, but that thought's in the back of his mind at the moment).   
"Jin-hyung told me what happened last night. He said you had it pretty bad. Drink it, it's still hot. It'll help, I promise." It's almost as if Jimin's read his mind, and Jeongguk feels a flush rising in his cheeks at the flashbacks of last night. Basically tears, and a lot of time in the bathroom. He takes the cup slowly and winces at his shaking hands, which threaten to spill the scalding liquid out of the white mug.   
"Where--is everyone else?" Jeongguk rasps out, and Jimin is quick to both shush him and look offended.   
"Yah, shut up! You're not allowed to talk. Also, I'm not enough for you? I'm offended, Jeongguk." He looks genuinely hurt, and Jeongguk's about to apologize before Jimin's warm finger is against his lips.   
"Nope, I told you to shut up. I was joking. Okay, let's see." Jimin starts counting off the members on his fingers.   
"Hobi-hyung and Seokjin-hyung are at practice, Yoongi-hyung and Joonie-hyung are in the studio producing some stuff. Tae had some interview to go to, so he's not going to be back until late. Hobi-hyung and Jin-hyung'll be back around six, and Yoongi-hyung and Namjoon-hyung a little bit later. But, you're stuck with me until then. No, don't talk."   
Jeongguk shuts his mouth after that.   
Jimin keeps to his word, barely leaving Jeongguk's side all day. He puts some move in the player and cuddles up to Jeongguk, holding him close and carding his fingers through his hair, which he definitely needs to wash. He has a coughing fit every fifteen minutes, but Jimin makes a little more bearable. It's when Jimin leaves to go make food for Jeongguk, though he refuses several times, that he finally rolls over and picks up his phone. The group chat is flooded with texts, and Jeongguk sighs and blinks heavily before scrolling through them wearily.   
They're all some variant of "I miss Ggukie" or "i hope you're feeling better!" or "guys i'm bored this interview has a part two and jeongguk's not here to make stupid faces and stuff". (that one's from Taehyung.) A small smile grazes Jeongguk's lips and he uses his thumb to type out a message extremely slowly. He responds to all of them with a sad face. Immediately, his phone begins to light up and ding like crazy, and almost immediately he regrets answering at all. The light is suddenly beginning to make his headache return, but he stays on a little longer to read the messages. There's a, "oh my poor baby :(((" from Seokjin and a series of sad emojis from Hoseok. Taehyung replies with a ":'(((((((((((" and Namjoon and Yoongi both send way too professional condolences through their phones. He smiles softly again before another series of coughs tears their way up his throat and he's hurled into another fit, dry, ragged coughs that rip up his throat and leave his chest burning and him gasping for air. Jimin is there not thirty seconds later, a bowl in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He rubs Jeongguk's back through his coughs, murmuring praises in his ear until he finally stops, and then a glass of water is being held at his lips and he sips slowly, trying to calm his aggravated lungs that refuse to work properly down.   
When the glass of water is back on the bedside table, Jeongguk slumps against his pillows. The hazy feverish feeling has returned, and he can't breathe through his nose anymore. The pounding in his head is back and he feels tired, utterly exhausted even though he's done literally nothing all day. Jimin seems to notice something's wrong immediately, and his palm is resting against his sweaty forehead seconds later. He disappears and returns a minute later, the same two tablets he was fed last night by Seokjin in his palm. Jeongguk manages to choke them down, wincing when they rub against his burning throat. There are tears in his eyes from the number of times he's coughed and it all hurts, and why is he miserable again?   
Jimin slides in next to him, lifting the blankets so he can press himself against Jeongguk. The thought that he might get Jimin sick is the last in his mind, and he curls into the body heat immediately, sighing when the arms wrap around him and he snuggles his face into Jimin's chest.   
"I'm sorry, Jeonggukie." Jimin mumbles into his hair, but Jeongguk is nearly asleep already and he barely registers the words before the world blacks out once again. 

"Jeonggukie."  
"Ggukie, baby, can you wake up, please?"   
Jeongguk blinks his eyes open, to see six worried faces all standing solemnly around him. Well, except Jimin, who's still holding him tight. He's grateful for that. Seokjin is kneeling next to his bed, rubbing his arm gently, forehead creased in concern.   
"You doing any better, baby?"   
Jeongguk pushes himself up into a sitting position and is pleasantly surprised when his limbs don't protest nearly as much as they did a few hours ago. He nods a little, and Seokjin grins.   
"You really scared us, Ggukie." That's a solemn statement from Namjoon, who doesn't look angry, but disappointed. And that makes Jeongguk's stomach churn not because of his sickness, but from guilt. He will take any of his hyungs yelling at him rather than being disappointed. He can't stand any of his hyungs having that face, that he's let them down. He looks down at his fingers and mumbles out his next words.   
"I'm sorry."   
Namjoon sighs.   
"I'm not looking for an apology, Jeonggukie, I just want to know why you hid it for so long. If you had told us days ago, we could have stopped this," Namjoon gestures around with his hands, "from getting this far."   
Jeongguk traces the lines on his palms, not lifting his eyes from his hands.   
"I just--didn't want to let any of you down. I'm already the youngest of all of you, I don't want to be the weak link, either. Besides, everyone was so busy and I figured it was just extra stress no one needed. I thought I could handle it on my own."   
Yoongi lets out an exasperated, unbelieving laugh at that.   
"Are you serious right now, Jeongguk? Like, genuinely serious? Then let me ask you something. If Jimin-ah sprained his wrist during practice, then what would you do? Would you want him to hide it for so long that he'd break it instead of getting it fixed as soon as possible?"   
Jeongguk's answer is immediate.   
"Of course not! But that's something serious."   
"And this isn't, Ggukie?" It's Hoseok's turn to talk now.   
"If Mark-hyung hadn't found you, do you know how bad this could have gotten? Pneumonia, laryngitis, bronchitis, or worse. People _die_ from that, Jeongguk. _Like, they get so sick that no one can save them and they die."_  Taehyung nearly shrieks, and Jeongguk can't remember one single time Taehyung's ever spoken firmly time. He's usually acting younger than Jeongguk himself, and he's completely not used to him acting like an actual hyung. Hoseok rests an hand on Taehyung's arm, silently letting him know that he needs to calm down.   
"What Taehyung means is that this is just as serious or worse, Ggukie. We worry about you enough as it is, you being the youngest. Yes, I know you're not a teenager anymore. But still, we worry. It's an instinct. So you need to tell us if something's wrong, or we're going to be concerned, firstly because we know you're hurting and secondly because we feel like you don't trust us enough to tell us stuff like that." Seokjin says calmly, never breaking eye contact.   
"I do trust you. But--"  
"You are not a burden, Jeongguk. Sometimes, you really need to shut up and think before you say stuff." Taehyung spits out. There are tears building in the corners of his eyes, and Jeongguk pretends not to notice how he lifts a sleeve to aggressively wipe his eyes before they can fall.   
"You will never, ever be a burden to us, kid. So you need to tell us things like this so we can help you, okay?" Yoongi says gruffly, and there's a series of nods.   
"I really am sorry. I never meant for this to happen." Jeongguk says, finally looking up to meet his hyung's eyes.   
"Aish, why are you apologizing for being sick? This kid, I swear." Namjoon says, shaking his head. "You can't help being sick, but you can help what you do about it. So please, tell us if something's bothering you, okay? We care, Ggukie, and we will always want to help you, no matter how stressed or busy we are."   
"Okay, hyung. I really am sor--"  
 "Aish, stop apologizing already, I'm already crying, for God's sake!" Taehyung finally bursts, and it's with that he jumps on Jeongguk, enveloping him in a hug. Jeongguk startles, but he's quick to reciprocate the hug. Soon enough, he's joined by the other five people in the room, until he's supporting the weight of all six of his hyungs.   
"We love you, Ggukie."   
He's not sure who whispers it, through the dark, but it makes Jeongguk warmer and he smiles in the darkness.  
They fall asleep like that, tangled in each other's embraces and warmth all around.   
And yes, Jeongguk might be a stubborn brat who refuses to show that he's hurting.   
But maybe.  
Maybe, surrounded by warmth and love, he'll learn.   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and i now win the award for the worst updater, i'm so sorry! i really meant to get this out last week, but i had so many tests and essays in the past week and i was so, so busy that i barely got a chance to write.   
> i hope this was somewhat okay, and with this chapter we come to an end! i hope the ending wasn't that bad, i tried.   
> thank you for all the kudos and comments, i really, really love hearing from you guys!  
> if you have prompts, i'll be more than happy to take them! as well as suggestions.   
> i love you guys, and if you want to talk or see some more of stuff you can follow me on tumblr:   
> @dream-love-kook  
> :) <3 <3


	4. *bonus*-- awkward wishes and last words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -i'll explain at the end-

Quick Bonus: 

It’s days later, and Jeongguk finally feels like he’s actually recovering, thank the higher power above. He’s managed to stand up long enough to take a shower and wash the remnants of the fever from his body. Sure, he’s still achy and sore and the ache in his temple never fully went away, he’s getting there. And he’s got just his band mates to thank for it. The very day he was brought home, Seokjin had barely left his side; doting on him, checking his temperature, force feeding him every hour. Of course, it included lots of scolding any time he tried to get up from his bed and a light slap to the seat of his shorts if he so much as tried to crawl on the first day he got somewhat better. Namjoon was there as well, just in a more awkward manner. He mainly stood around as Seokjin tsked and tutted around, rubbing the back of his neck but helping when called. Yoongi had helped as well, though he’ll refuse to admit if you ask him now. He’d been there the first two days, silently pouring out cough syrup and carding soft fingers through Jeongguk’s sweaty hair. Taehyung and Jimin had latched onto him, hugging him from either side as means of comfort, despite the squawking about them getting sick as well. And Hoseok was nearly as bad as Seokjin, hovering over him and fretting about how he looked too flushed or if he showed the tiniest sign of discomfort.                                 Nevertheless, Jeongguk is thankful, even if he’s being smothered in hugs and scoldings. His hyungs are his brothers, and he loves them more than he’ll ever be willing to admit. 

It’s about four days later when Jeongguk is stretched out on the couch, flicking aimlessly through the channels. A light throw blanket is tangled in his long limbs and he’s propped up sideways against a pillow, courtesy of Hoseok. There’s some cooking show playing and he settles on that, watching as the hosts laugh with each other and chop up vegetables unnaturally fast against the chopping boards. Suddenly, Taehyung’s loud, raucous laughter sounds from down the hallway and Jeongguk twists around curiously. 

“Yeah, Yeah, ten minutes. Hurry your ass up, _hyung_.” 

Oh. He’d talking on the phone. Jeongguk not surprised; Taehyung has a very outgoing personality and more idol friends than he can count. It’s quite often that he’ll be laughing with one of them on the phone. But when the doorbell rings just minutes later, he’s starting to become suspicious. Taehyung skips down the hallway and gives Jeongguk a dangerous smirk as he heads toward the door, humming to himself. The door creaks open and—

“We’re here, where is he?” 

That voice sounds very familiar. Way too familiar.               

“Hurry, I wasn’t joking when I said we had ten minutes.”

Jeongguk’s eyes widen comically. No. He didn’t. He wouldn’t. Taehyung’s not _that_ extra, he tells himself.  He’s _not._ But oh yes he is. He would. And he did. Jeongguk is going to murder this hyung. Because walking down the hall behind Taehyung is every member of Got7, all 7 of them. Dear lord, hasn’t he been embarrassed enough by now? Taehyung invites them all into the living room, kindly giving them a warning not to sit on Jeonnguk, as if they can't see him. He sticks out like a sore thumb, partially covered in his blue blanket. He smiles awkwardly as the seven members walk in, like he hasn't seen them hundreds of times before. In the back of his head, he's vaguely wondering how they're even in his dorm, because he's pretty sure they live far, far away and they wouldn't drive this far just to see him. 

Finally, it's Jackson who punctures through the silence.  
"So Jeongguk-ah, how are you feeling?"  
"Better, thank you."

__

Jeongguk dips his head to hide his flush, which is definitely not fever-induced this time around. God, why is this so awkward? He's very tempted to say something about the weather, because the silence is starting to become deafening. A chorus of "that's good," and "recover well"s come from the rest of their mouths and then Jaebum politely excuses them, saying they dropped by to check up since they were heading in the area and they would get going. Simultaneously they get up  and walk out, but much to Jeongguk's dismay,  two stay behind. Mark and Yugyeom remain standing, and Mark speaks first. 

__

"Well, you nearly gave me a heart attack, kid." Mark chuckles awkwardly and in a flash, Jeongguk remembers how awkward he really is. So he speaks up, because he genuinely wants to thank Mark. 

__

"I figured, I'm sorry. I did want to thank you for the help though, I appreciate it."

__

Mark ducks his head in a nod and walks out, shoving his hands in his pockets as he goes. Yugyeom makes to follow him, but he detours towards Jeongguk first. And completely out of the blue, leans down and hugs him, warm arms circling around his shoulders. 

__

"Feel better, okay? We still have to have a second bowling match."

__

And then Yugyeom walks out, letting the door shut behind him. Jeongguk smiles softly for a second, because that's Yugyeom's way of showing he cares. 

__

And then he furrows his brow, takes a deep breath, and screams. 

__

"KIM TAEHYUNG-HYUNG!"

__

There's the squeak of, "Crap, he's definitely feeling better" and the desperate thudding of footsteps, and Jeongguk rises. 

__

At least he was polite. 

__

Kim Taehyung is a dead man. 

__

 

__

 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! so, I'm back. I know I said I finished, but got7 had like thirty seconds of screen time so I added them back in for a quick bonus chapter. at 1 in the morning. And I typed this on my phone, so I apologize if there were mistakes.  
> yeah.  
> And guys, I want to write another fic, so comment if you have any ideas about who or what type! I love prompts as well! And let me know what you think as well.  
> Thanks for reading, I love you all!  
> tumblr: @dream-love-kook  
> ♥♥


End file.
